Lights in darkness

As authorities continue manhunt for suspect, thousands turn out at vigil to honor, remember 8-year-old girl slain in Valley Springs

VALLEY SPRINGS - Valley Springs residents turned out by the bus load Tuesday night to light candles in memory of Leila Fowler and offer what comfort they could to the family of the slain 8-year-old girl.

VALLEY SPRINGS - Valley Springs residents turned out by the bus load Tuesday night to light candles in memory of Leila Fowler and offer what comfort they could to the family of the slain 8-year-old girl.

Leila died Saturday of stab wounds inflicted during an attack at her Rippon Road home. Investigators searching for an intruder seen fleeing the home have yet to report a break in the case.

Leila was a third-grader at Jenny Lind Elementary School. Several thousand people packed the school's central plaza Tuesday night for a service in her honor.

The crowd was so large that many had to be bused in from a church parking lot a half-mile away. As they arrived, people picked up purple ribbons - it was reportedly Leila's favorite color - and walked to the far side of the school's athletic fields to tie the ribbons to a fence along Highway 26.

The message said "WE (heart) LEILA." After tying their ribbons, members of a youth group at Good Samaritan Community Covenant Church joined hands and prayed.

"As a community, we are one," said Raven Pasquinucci, 17, a member of the youth group.

Many at the vigil expressed wonder at the extent to which Valley Springs had united to face the grievous loss of a child. And though they were heartened that so many people came to support Leila's family, they said they were still in shock that it was necessary at all.

"This does not happen in our communities," said Pamela Smylie, Leila's third-grade teacher and one of the speakers during the vigil. "It happens on TV and in big cities."

Leila's father, Barney Fowler, her stepmother, Crystal Walters, and Leila's siblings stood a few feet away as Smylie told of how the girl had been a "wonderful student" and "a truly beautiful person outside and inside."

"Leila will never be forgotten," Smylie said. "She will be carried in my heart forever."

The Rev. Matt Nordahl of Burson Church told those at the vigil that Leila was "in the arms of our Lord."

He also prayed for the success of investigators, who despite three days of searching had yet to find the person responsible or to even identify a suspect.

The Calaveras County Sheriff's Office released no new information on the case Tuesday, although Sheriff Gary Kuntz did issue a statement thanking community residents for their support during the massive, and sometimes disruptive, search. That search is expected to continue today.

Meanwhile, police in Placerville on Tuesday said they had contacted Calaveras County sheriff's investigators to explore whether a man arrested after reportedly attempting to abduct a toddler Tuesday might be connected to Saturday's killing in Valley Springs.

Jason Wryrynen, 44, entered an apartment and tried to take a 15-month-old girl from her mother, The Sacramento Bee reported.

A Placerville police spokesman said the agency had no reason to believe Wryrynen was connected to the Valley Springs case except that Wryrynen resembles the vague suspect description given in Leila's killing.